Cox praises players after crucial win

Manager Paul Cox was delighted that our team got their reward for their excellent efforts by taking all three points in tonight’s home match with high-flying Morecambe.

The Stags looked set to be held to a draw as they were unable to break down a resilient Shrimps back-line throughout the 90 minutes.

However, on the brink of three minutes injury-time that all changed, as substitute Alex Fisher pounced at point-blank range to guide home a Liam Marsden throw and spark joyous celebrations.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush – I thought we were excellent,” said Cox, who was speaking in his post-match interview.

“I thought the players showed an incredible amount of bravery tonight. With the ball we were excellent and played some good stuff – if anything we probably over-played it at times.

“We played some fluid stuff and all we needed was the end product.

“We were excellent all the way through with the ball and without the ball and my only worry was near the end and being undone by a breakaway.

“I said to the boys at half-time ‘just be patient, we don’t need to chase the game, keep playing the way you are and ultimately a chance will come.’

“It was late on [when we scored] and realistically it could have and should have been wrapped up before then without us going overboard with things.”

Cox continued: “These boys have done excellent in these first weeks of the season. The bad luck we’ve had with injuries and the odd knocks we’ve had has hit us hard, but they don’t know when they’re beaten so full credit to the players.”

Meanwhile, in more positive news, our boss has revealed that Bermuda international Reggie Lambe is set to sign for the club tomorrow.

“We’re looking to bring another play in as well as [Reggie],” said Cox.

“The chairman has given me the go ahead to bring them in. Full credit to him – he’s backed me and more so, he’s backed the players with this one.

“There are some tired players out there and players playing with knocks, but what they’ve done, they’re such a tight-knit group that they enjoy each other and they enjoy winning.

“Everyone saw what it meant to them at the end to score, but we need consistency now [and to] bed ourselves down, make sure we prepare properly for Saturday for what’s going to be another tough game.”

Paul Cox’s full post-match interview will be available on Stags Player later tonight. To subscribe, click here.